A free agency note: The Knicks have been in touch with a few centers in free agency, per sources. Those sources say the club was checking the market for backup centers behind free agent Mitchell Robinson.
This was viewed as further confirmation the club is confident that Robinson will re-sign in free agency.
Technically, New York can still negotiate an extension with Robinson. But the club is expected to use its existing cap space to ink Jalen Brunson and potentially acquire other players (New York is among the teams interested in Dejounte Murray).
The Knicks can exceed the cap to bring back Robinson, who is viewed as an integral part of Tom Thibodeau’s defense by people in the organization.
The Knicks also intend to convert Jericho Sims to a standard contract. The club has interest in re-signing veteran Taj Gibson, but it seems like that decision depends on how things shake out in the backup center market.
New York traded center Nerlens Noel in Detroit on Tuesday in an effort to create cap space. The club currently has roughly $35 million in cap space.
Bleacher Report stated that Robinson is expected to receive a four-year, $60 million deal. That figure hasn’t been confirmed by SNY but is in the neighborhood of where opposing teams expect Robinson to get.